Mounting system for solar panels, and mounting rail and anchoring device therefor

ABSTRACT

In one broad aspect, the present invention provides a mounting system ( 100 ) for mounting one or more solar panels (S), comprising: a plurality of elongate mounting members ( 20 ) adapted to be arranged and secured spaced apart and substantially parallel to one another; and a plurality of anchoring devices ( 30 ) for securing each of the mounting members ( 20 ) to a support structure, such as a roof structure. Each of the mounting members ( 20 ) is adapted to receive and support an edge region (E) of a solar panel (S), such that each solar panel (S) extends between at least two mounting members ( 20 ). Furthermore, each anchoring device ( 30 ) comprises a footing ( 31 ) to be rigidly fastened to the support structure, and a coupling member ( 35 ) for connection with a respective one of the mounting members ( 20 ). A spacing between the coupling member ( 35 ) and the footing ( 31 ) is selectively variable by a user to adjust and/or set an elevation (X) of the respective mounting member ( 20 ) relative to the support structure. In a related aspect, the invention provides a mounting rail ( 20 ) for the mounting system ( 100 ). In another related aspect, the invention also provides an anchoring device ( 30 ) for the mounting system ( 100 ).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a mounting system for mounting solarpanels, as well as to a mounting rail and an anchoring device designedfor use in the mounting system of the invention.

The mounting system of the invention and, of course, the associatedmounting rail and the anchoring device are particularly suitable for usein mounting solar panels on a rooftop, such as a pitched rooftop, orsimilar structure, and it will convenient to describe the invention inthis exemplary context. It is to be appreciated, however, that themounting system of the invention is not limited to use on rooftops orsloping surfaces, but may also be employed where the solar panels are tobe mounted on any of a variety of supporting frameworks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As a result of the increasing trend towards adoption of renewable energysources, the installation of solar panel arrays is gaining inpopularity, not only for industrial and institutional applications, butalso in the domestic and rural environments. Whether for the industrial,institutional, domestic or rural environment, the solar panels are oftenmounted on the rooftops of buildings—most typically in the area wherethe solar energy is required. Roof structures are particularlyconvenient for this purpose as they present a large surface areadirected towards the sun, which is both out of the way and often largelyout of view from the normal visual perspective, thereby rendering theinstallations relatively unobtrusive. Horizontal or flat rooftopsurfaces are naturally convenient for workers assembling and installingan array of solar panels as they provide an even and stable workingenvironment. Many roof structures, however, are not horizontal butrather are pitched or angled, and thereby present significant challengesfor the workers installing the solar panel array.

When installing solar panel arrays on a rooftop, particularly on apitched or angled rooftop, it is often desirable and necessary to removea portion of the original roof cladding, such as tiles or sheetmaterial, in the area of the roof at which the solar panels are to bearranged. This is often necessary to gain access to the structuralframework of the roof (i.e. the arrangement of beams and bearing memberssuch as rafters, battens, purlins and/or stringers), upon which thearray of solar panels is ultimately to be supported and secured. Removalof the original cladding material in this area also enables the solarpanel array to be set into the roof, thereby giving the array asignificantly lower profile and making it less conspicuous than if itwere simply mounted on top of the original outer roof cladding. When theoriginal roof cladding is replaced with the solar panel array, however,it is naturally critical to ensure that the integrity of theweather-proofing is retained in the rooftop after installation of thearray.

The solar panels typically comprise photovoltaic modules and the newerversions being increasingly produced by manufacturers compriserelatively thin, glass-layered modules which dispense with a metal framearound the panel edges. Although they may not offer the maximum possiblesolar efficiency, the frameless glass-layered photovoltaic panels arenevertheless gaining in popularity because they still provide acceptableperformance at a substantially lower cost than modules with the highestpossible solar efficiency. The individual frameless, glass-layeredphotovoltaic solar panels may have various dimensions, but typicallyexhibit a solar collecting area in the range of about 0.5 m² to about 4m². One particular example of such a panel has dimensions of about 1.3m×1.1 m and a mass of about 25 kg. Thus, in addition to the fact thatthe frameless glass panels are difficult to mount reliably withoutcausing damage at the edge regions of the panels, the individual panelscan be quite heavy and of an unwieldy size, presenting an area which,during handling, is susceptible to even light gusts of wind, makingtheir handling by a single person installing the array difficult.

It is therefore apparent that the installation of such panels on apitched or inclined roof surface can present major challenges for anefficient installation procedure. To address many of these issues, theapplicant has previously developed an improved system for mounting solarpanels described in the co-pending International Patent Application No.PCT/EP2009/002480, the entire contents of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

Nevertheless, even in view of the advancements and benefits provided bythe system described in the co-pending application referenced above, itremains an object to optimise the solar panel mounting system to providean easier and more efficient installation procedure that can beperformed by a single person, and thereby to minimise the risk to thehealth and safety of the person performing the installation e.g. on apitched roof or angled structure, as well as to the health and safety ofbystanders in the vicinity. It is also an object to minimise the chanceof damage to the solar panels themselves during the installationprocedure. Furthermore, it is an object to provide a new and improvedsolar panel mounting system which enables a solar panel array to beintegrated into a roof structure such that it forms part of the buildingenvelope and, in a simple and cost-effective manner, substantiallyprevents ingress of rain-water into the roof structure after the panelsare installed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect, the present invention provides a mountingsystem for mounting one or more solar panels on a support structure,such as a roof structure, the system comprising: a plurality of elongatemounting members adapted to be arranged and secured spaced apart andsubstantially parallel to one another, each of the mounting membersbeing adapted to receive and support an edge region of a solar panelsuch that each solar panel extends between at least two of the mountingmembers; and a plurality of anchoring devices for securing each of themounting members to the support structure, with each of the anchoringdevices comprising a footing to be rigidly fastened to the supportstructure and a coupling member for connection with a respective one ofthe mounting members. According to the invention, a spacing between thecoupling member and the footing is selectively variable by a user toadjust and/or set an elevation or height of the respective mountingmember relative to the support structure. In this way, when installing asolar panel array on a roof structure, the mounting system is able to bereadily adapted by the operator to suit the particular roof structureconcerned, including the positions and sizes of the roof beams. This isparticularly convenient for adjusting and setting the disposition of thesolar panels to overlap at their respective upper and lower edgeregions, e.g. on a pitched or inclined roof structure, so that the solarpanels can be arranged to function as part of the building envelope andeffectively replace the original roof cladding material. In other words,the solar panels themselves can be arranged to guide rain-water and/orsnow melt over the roof area without permitting any significant ingressinto the roof space.

In a preferred form of the invention, the footing of each anchoringdevice is designed to provide a stable foundation upon which a frame ofthe mounting system, i.e. comprising the plurality of mounting members,may stand. In this regard, each footing may comprise a plate member forrigid attachment to the support structure via one or more fasteners(e.g. screw fasteners). Thus, a substantially flat or planar surface ofthe plate member may be configured to seat stably against asubstantially flat surface of the support structure and to be rigidlyfastened thereto.

In a particular form of the invention, the coupling member of eachanchoring device is connected in spaced relationship to the footing viaa spacer member. In such an embodiment, the spacer member and/or thecoupling member preferably include(s) means for selectively varying (anddesirably setting or fixing) the position of the coupling member on thespacer member. As such, the coupling member may be mounted on the spacermember and selectively movable relative thereto. That is, the positionvarying means may include means for moving the coupling member on thespacer member. The footing, on the other hand, may be rigidly fixed tothe spacer member. Despite the possibility of relative movement, theconnection between the coupling member and the spacer member isnevertheless typically stable, secure and robust. By varying theposition of the coupling member on the spacer member, the spacingbetween the coupling member and the footing can thereby be selectivelyvaried and/or set by a user to adjust an elevation of the mountingmember relative to the support structure. In this way, the positionvarying means essentially forms means for adjusting the spacing.

In a preferred form of the invention, the position varying means (i.e.the adjusting means) is configured for varying the spacing continuouslybetween a predetermined maximum and a predetermined minimum, i.e.between two end positions. In this regard, the position varying means(i.e. adjusting means) may incorporate a screw-thread for effecting agradual continuous displacement along the thread between the endpositions. For example, the spacer member may comprise a threaded rodand the coupling member may be in threaded engagement with the spacerrod, such that rotating the threaded rod relative to the coupling membermoves the coupling member axially along the rod, either towards or awayfrom the footing, thereby varying or adjusting the distance or spacingbetween them. It will be appreciated, of course, that the invention isnot limited to the use of a screw-thread for the adjusting means. Theposition varying means (i.e. adjusting means) could also, for example,comprise a slidable mechanism, such as a clamp mechanism, forselectively and releasably clamping and fixing a position of thecoupling member along a length of the spacer member. Such a clampmechanism could be provided in the coupling member, which could beadapted for continuous sliding movement along the spacer member.Alternatively, the position varying means (adjusting means) may comprisea detent mechanism with a series of discrete locking positions forselectively adjusting and setting a desired position of the couplingmember on the spacer member, and thus, the spacing between the footingand the coupling member.

In a preferred form of the invention, the coupling member of eachanchoring device is configured for selective connection with arespective mounting member along substantially the entire length of themounting member; for example, via a snap-fit. In this way, the operatorhas maximum flexibility in selecting the position along the length ofthe mounting member at which the anchoring device is to be connected.This is quite important when one considers that the relative positionsof the beams in a roof structure, over which the mounting members extendand to which they are to be secured, will vary from roof to roof. As itis often necessary to secure each of the elongate mounting members atthree or more points along their length, the capability to connect theanchoring device at effectively any desired position along the length ofthe mounting members is particularly advantageous. Furthermore, havingselected a desired position for the anchoring device along the length ofthe mounting member for a particular roof structure, the operator maythen securely connect the anchoring device with the mounting member by asimple snap-fit or “click-in” operation.

In this respect, each of the mounting members desirably comprises achannel that extends longitudinally of the mounting member for receivingand securely engaging with the coupling member. The channel may beprovided in a base portion of the mounting member and may opendownwardly for receiving the coupling member from an underside of themounting member. The downwardly open channel extends over substantiallythe entire length of the mounting member and the coupling member of theanchoring device is configured to engage and securely connect with thechannel.

In a preferred form of the invention, the coupling member comprises atleast one interconnection element for coupling engagement with at leastone complementary interconnection element provided in the downwardlyopen channel of the mounting member. The at least one interconnectionelement of the coupling member may, for example, be in the form of aprojection. In that case, the at least one complementary interconnectionelement in the channel may comprise a recess having a counterpart orcorresponding geometry. Alternatively, of course, the at least oneinterconnection element of the coupling member may be in the form of arecess, and the at least one complementary interconnection element inthe channel may be a corresponding projection. In a particularembodiment, such a combination of projection and recess may be in theform of complementary tongue and groove elements. These elements mayalso be provided with angled surfaces and/or with rounded or curvededges to facilitate sliding contact and engagement into a snap-fitinterconnection there-between.

In a preferred form of the invention, the downwardly open channel in thebase portion of the mounting member may be resiliently flexible orresiliently deformable to facilitate the desired snap-fit connectionbetween the anchoring device and the mounting member. For example, whencomplementary interconnection elements are provided at opposite sidewalls of the channel to engage with the interconnection elementsprovided at opposite sides of the coupling member, the side walls of thechannel may incorporate a degree of resilient flexibility ordeformability to facilitate, for example, a resilient expansion andreturn contraction of the walls to effect or assist a “click-in” orsnap-fit engagement of the respective elements. Alternatively or inaddition, the elements themselves, e.g. the projection(s), may haveresilience or spring means for assisting the snap-fit engagement.

After the coupling member of one of the anchoring devices is securelyconnected with the base of the mounting member, the operator can quicklyand simply adjust and set the desired height or elevation of themounting member at that particular position by varying the spacingbetween the footing and coupling member of the anchoring device, asdescribed above. In one embodiment to be described in more detail later,this may be done by rotating the footing of the anchoring devicerelative to the coupling member connected to the mounting member. Oncethe elevation or height has been appropriately adjusted, the footing maythen be rigidly fastened, e.g. with screws, to the roof structure.

According to another aspect, the present invention provides a mountingrail for mounting a solar panel in a solar panel mounting system, themounting rail having: an upper portion with at least one panel seatingarea that extends longitudinally of the mounting rail for receiving andfixing an edge region of the solar panel; and a base portion having alongitudinally extending channel which opens downwardly to an undersideof the mounting rail. The downwardly open channel is configured toreceive a coupling member of an anchoring device for securing themounting member to a support structure, such as a roof structure.According to the invention, the downwardly open channel includes atleast one interconnection element for engagement with the couplingmember of the anchoring device via a snap-fit. This snap-fit engagementis preferably releasable.

In a preferred form of the invention, the downwardly open channel in theunderside of the mounting rail includes interconnection elements formedin opposite side walls of the channel for engagement with complementaryinterconnection elements on opposite sides of the coupling member. Asalready noted above, the interconnection elements may be in the form ofprojections and/or recesses (e.g. tongue and groove elements) havingcounterpart or corresponding geometries. Furthermore, the side walls ofthe channel may have a degree of resilient flexibility or deformabilityto facilitate a “click-in” or snap-fit engagement of the respectiveelements. Thus, the interconnection elements in the downwardly openchannel may be configured for resiliently flexible or resiliently biasedengagement with the coupling member of the anchoring device.

In a preferred form of the invention, the base portion of the mountingrail is elongate and desirably of uniform cross-section with acontinuous central longitudinal axis. Similarly, the upper portion ofthe mounting rail is desirably elongate and of uniform cross-sectionwith a continuous central longitudinal axis. The upper portion and thebase portion of the mounting rail are typically rigidly connected withone another to provide an integral mounting rail construction. The upperportion and base portion may or may not be unitarily formed. Preferably,the base portion is longitudinally offset from and/or extendslongitudinally beyond the upper portion of the mounting rail. In thisway, the base portion of one mounting rail is configured to overlap withthe base portion of a longitudinally adjacent or adjoining mounting railin the solar panel mounting system. In a particularly preferredembodiment, the base portion of the mounting rail includes at least onelongitudinally extending channel which is upwardly open for capturingand/or directing flow of water ingress under the solar panels. Thus, theat least one upwardly open channel of the base portion may be adapted tooverlap in the longitudinal direction with another respective upwardlyopen channel in the base portion of a longitudinally adjacent oradjoining mounting member. Preferably, the at least one upwardly openchannel in the base portion of the mounting rail extends parallel to andlaterally spaced from the downwardly open channel, which itselfdesirably extends centrally of the base portion. The at least oneupwardly open channel preferably projects laterally, i.e. in itsbreadth, to a side of the mounting rail beyond a lateral extent of thepanel seating area on the upper portion of the mounting rail.

According to yet another aspect, the present invention provides ananchoring device for securing a mounting rail of a solar panel mountingsystem to a support structure, the anchoring device comprising: afooting configured to be rigidly fastened to the support structure, anda coupling member for connection with the mounting rail. The anchoringdevice includes means for selectively varying a distance or spacing ofthe coupling member from the footing to adjust and/or set an elevationof the mounting member relative to the support structure.

In a preferred form of the anchoring device, the coupling member isconnected to the footing via a spacer member, and the anchoring deviceincludes means for selectively varying the position of the couplingmember on the spacer member to adjust and/or set the elevation of themounting member. As already discussed above, the spacer member and/orthe coupling member may include the position varying means.

In yet another, alternative aspect, the present invention provides amounting system for mounting one or more solar panels, comprising: aplurality of elongate mounting members adapted to be arranged andsecured in longitudinal alignment with one another for supporting one ormore solar panels thereon; and a plurality of anchoring devices forsecuring the mounting members to a support structure, such as a roofstructure. Each of the mounting members comprises: an upper portion forreceiving and supporting an edge region of a solar panel, and a baseportion configured for connection with one or more of the anchoringdevices along substantially an entire length of the mounting member.According to this aspect, the base portion of the mounting member islongitudinally offset from and/or extends longitudinally beyond theupper portion, such that the base portion of one mounting member isconfigured to overlap with the base portion of a longitudinally adjacentor adjoining mounting member. The plurality of elongate mounting membersare typically also adapted to be arranged and secured substantiallyparallel to and laterally spaced from one another, such that theelongate mounting members form a mounting frame for supporting an arrayof the solar panels thereon, with each solar panel extending between atleast two laterally spaced mounting members.

As noted above, in a preferred form of the invention the base portionincludes at least one longitudinally extending channel which is upwardlyopen for capturing and/or directing water ingress under the solarpanels. This at least one upwardly open channel of the base portion isdesirably configured to overlap in the longitudinal direction with arespective upwardly open channel in the base portion of a longitudinallyadjacent or adjoining mounting member. A panel seating area forreceiving and fixing the edge region of a solar panel extendslongitudinally on the upper portion of the mounting member, and the atleast one upwardly open channel may project laterally, i.e. in itsbreadth, to a side of the mounting member beyond a lateral extent of thepanel seating area.

In a preferred form of the invention, the base portion of each mountingmember includes a longitudinally extending channel which opensdownwardly for receiving a coupling member of one of the anchoringdevices on an underside of the mounting member. Preferably, the at leastone upwardly open channel in the base portion extends parallel to andlaterally spaced from the downwardly open channel. In a particularembodiment, the base portion of each mounting member includes twoparallel upwardly open channels arranged to extend parallel to andlaterally spaced to either side of the downwardly open channel locatedcentrally of the base portion. Each upwardly open channel preferablyprojects laterally, i.e. in its breadth, to a side of the mounting railbeyond a lateral extent of the panel seating area on the upper portionof the mounting member.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides a retaining elementfor preventing the solar panel from sliding in a longitudinal or axialdirection relative to an elongate mounting member of a mounting systemfor mounting solar panels on an inclined structure, such as a pitchedroof. The retaining element comprises: a body portion configured to besecurely fastened at an axial end of a first elongate mounting member,the body portion presenting a stop surface for engagement with aperipheral edge of a solar panel mounted on the first mounting member.The body portion includes positioning means configured to elevate theend region of the first mounting member relative to an end region of asecond mounting member arranged adjacent or adjoining and inlongitudinal alignment with the first mounting member.

In a preferred form of the invention, the positioning means include oneor more protrusion configured to seat upon, to overlap with, and/or tobe received within the longitudinally adjacent or adjoining secondmounting member. The body portion is preferably configured to engage afacing end surface of the first mounting member and may, for thispurpose, comprise a facing plate member. The one or more protrusion ofthe positioning means may be provided on or project from the facingplate member.

The invention therefore also provides a mounting system for mounting oneor more solar panels, comprising: a plurality of elongate mountingmembers adapted to be arranged and secured in longitudinal alignmentwith one another for supporting one or more solar panels thereon,wherein each mounting member comprises a retaining element according tothe invention as described above for preventing the solar panel fromsliding in a longitudinal or axial direction relative to the mountingmember.

It should be noted that the terms “upper”, “lower”, “above”, “below”,“topside”, ^(“)underside”, “lateral”, “laterally” and other similarterms used herein in respect of various parts of the mounting system ofthe invention are intended to be given their ordinary meaning in view ofthe normal or in-use orientation of the mounting system describedherein. It will be appreciated, however, that other interpretations ofthese terms may be appropriate depending on the particular orientationof the system and/or its respective parts at the time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and further features and advantages of the invention willbecome more readily apparent from the following detailed description ofpreferred embodiments of the invention with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which like reference characters identify likefeatures, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mounting system for solar panelsaccording to a preferred embodiment of the invention shown assembledwith the solar panels on part of a rooftop;

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of an end of a mounting member in the regionmarked “A” of the mounting system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of an end of a mounting member in the regionmarked “B” of the mounting system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectioned view of the mounting system and roof structureshown in FIG. 1 taken in the direction of the arrows IV-IV;

FIG. 5 is a detailed sectioned view of the mounting system of theinvention and roof structure in the region marked “Z” shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an anchoring device for a solar panelmounting system according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the anchoring device in FIG. 6 showingof the coupling member being connected with the base portion of amounting member via a snap-fit;

FIG. 8 is a perspective underside view of the anchoring device in FIG. 6showing of the coupling member of the anchoring device in interlockingengagement with the base portion of a mounting member;

FIG. 9 is a sectioned side view of the mounting system and rooftop shownin FIG. 1 taken in the direction of the arrows IX-IX;

FIG. 10 is a detailed view of the cross-section of the mounting systemand rooftop in the region marked “Z” shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of longitudinally aligned and adjoiningmounting members in the region marked “B7” of the mounting system shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a detailed sectioned view of the end region of the mountingsystem shown in FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows XII-XII;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a retaining element according to anembodiment of the invention for the mounting system of the inventionshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is an end view of a base portion of a mounting member accordingto an embodiment of the invention for the mounting system of theinvention in FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is an end view of an upper portion of a mounting memberaccording to an embodiment of the invention for the mounting system ofthe invention in FIG. 1;

FIG. 16 is an end view of a clamping member of the mounting systemaccording to the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is an end view of an alternative clamping member of the mountingsystem according to the preferred embodiment of the invention shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a footing for the anchoring device ofthe invention shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a coupling member for the anchoringdevice of the invention shown in FIG. 6; and

FIGS. 20 (a) and (b) are perspective views of a spacer element andalternative spacer element, respectively, for the mounting system of theinvention shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a mounting system 100according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated inan assembled state installed on a rooftop R. The mounting system 100shown in FIG. 1 has been designed to carry six rectangular solar panelsS securely fixed to a mounting frame 10 of the mounting system in arectangular array. Five of the solar panels S are shown mounted on themounting frame 10 and one is absent to reveal parts of the underlyingmounting system 100, which will now be described in more detail. Thesolar panels S in this embodiment comprise relatively thin glassphotovoltaic panels or modules having a frameless sheet-glass covering.It will be appreciated, however, that other types of solar panels mayalso be contemplated for use in the mounting system 100 of theinvention. The solar panels S are rectangular and typically present acollecting surface with an area in the range of about 0.5 m² to about 4m², although the area and the precise dimensions of the panels are notcritical to the present invention.

The mounting frame 10 of the mounting system 100 shown in FIG. 1comprises a plurality of elongate mounting members 20, which in thisparticular embodiment are made up of individual straight elements havinga substantially uniform or constant cross-section, and which are formed,for example, as extruded aluminium sections. Thus, the mounting members20 are elongate structural elements upon which the solar panels aremounted and supported within the frame 10 of the mounting system 100. Inthe present embodiment the mounting members 20 will hereafter also bereferred to as mounting “rails”, as they are often known in the art.

The rooftop R shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, upon which the mountingsystem 100 of the invention is installed, includes conventional roofcladding C in the form of tiles. Other types of roof cladding material,such as corrugated sheet material (e.g. galvanized or coated steel roofsheeting) or synthetic (e.g. plastic) roof sheeting is, of course, alsopossible. The roof cladding C is supported on and securely affixed to aseries of roof beams B, the beams forming a framework of the roofstructure for the building. The roof beams B may be rafters, battens,purlins or stringers, as are typical in a roof structure, and in thisexample they are timber elements, although steel roof beams are alsoknown. As will be appreciated from the overlapping arrangement of theroof tiles in FIG. 1, the rooftop R in this embodiment is at leastslightly angled or pitched from a high side H to a low side L. A pitchedor inclined roof is not essential for the mounting system 100 of theinvention, but the invention has been conceived with features that makeit particularly suitable for use on such angled or inclined structures.

With the mounting system 100 in FIG. 1, the mounting rails 20 arearranged such that they extend substantially parallel to the generalplane of the roof and are inclined at about the same angle as the roofitself. In other words, some of the mounting rails 20 are arranged inlongitudinal alignment with one another such that they extend directlyup the incline of the pitched roof, while others of the mounting rails20 are arranged substantially parallel to one another and spaced apartat regular intervals approx. corresponding to the width of theindividual solar panels S. When installing the solar panel mountingsystem 100 of this particular embodiment, an area of the original roofcladding C (i.e. tiles) is firstly removed to expose the beams B of theroof structure for installation of the mounting system 100 thereon. Anedge region at the periphery of the area where the tiles have beenremoved can be seen in FIG. 1. The mounting rails 20 are rigidly securedto the structure of the roof with the aid of a plurality of anchoringdevices 30, as will be explained in more detail below.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawings, the mounting system 100of the invention as show in FIG. 1 of the drawings is illustrated incross-section in the direction of arrows IV-IV, so that the individualmounting rails 20, the anchoring devices 30 with which each of themounting rails is securely fastened to the beams B of the roofstructure, and the solar panels S are clearly illustrated. In this case,the beams B of the roof structure shown in cross-section in FIG. 4 arerafters B₁, whereas the beams shown in side view are cross-beams orbattens B₂. The elongate mounting rails 20 are integral memberscomprising an upper portion 21 with panel seating areas 19 for receivingand fixing an edge region E of a solar panel S and a lower or baseportion 22 configured to be coupled with an anchoring device 30 forsecuring the mounting rail 20 to a beam B of the roof structure.

It will be noted that, although the mounting rail 20 is an integralcomponent, the upper portion 21 and the base portion 22 of each mountingrail 20 may be formed as separate components and later rigidly combined(e.g. by welding or by riveting). In this respect, the drawing FIGS. 14and 15 illustrate the base portion 22 and the upper portion 21,respectively, before being combined to provide an integral mounting rail20. Naturally, however, the upper portion 21 and the base portion 22need not be formed as separate components but can, from the outset,comprise integral parts of a mounting rail 20 having a unitaryconstruction. In the particular embodiment illustrated, each of themounting rails 20 has the same configuration and, as such, each mountingrail 20 is adapted to receive an edge region E of two separate solarpanels S at laterally opposite sides of the mounting rail. When one ofthe mounting rails 20 is arranged at an extreme outer periphery of thesolar panel array, however, that mounting rail 20 will typically receiveand securely fix the edge region E of a solar panel at one side only, asapparent from right-hand side of FIG. 4.

The details of the configuration of the upper portion 21 of the mountingrail 20 will be described later in connection with the attachment of thesolar panels S. The base portion 22 of the mounting rail 20, however,includes a longitudinally extending, central channel 23 which opensdownwardly to substantially flat surfaces 24 at an underside of therail, with those surfaces 24 extending to laterally opposite sides ofthe central channel 23. As can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 14, the central,downwardly open channel 23 in the base portion 22 includes a slot orgroove 25 formed in each opposite side wall 26 of the channel 23 andextending continuously along the length thereof. That is, the side walls26 have a relatively thin cross-sectional profile, but include thickerregions 27 in which the respective slots or grooves 25 are provided. Asis particularly apparent with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8 of the drawings,the slots or grooves 25 formed in the downwardly open channel 23constitute interconnection elements for interlocking engagement with theanchoring device 30. In addition, the base portion 22 includes twoupwardly open channels 28 extending longitudinally of the mounting rail20. These upwardly open channels 28 are provided at laterally oppositesides of the central, downwardly open channel 23 and include troughsthat define the flat underside surfaces 24 of the base portion. In thisembodiment, each of the channels 28 projects laterally beyond a lateralextent of the upper portion 21 of the mounting rail 20, with each of thechannels 28 terminating in a lateral direction with an upturned edge 29.Although not apparent from the cross-sectional views in FIGS. 4 and 5,the base portion 22 of each mounting rail 20 extends longitudinallybeyond the upper portion 21 at one end thereof so that the upwardly openchannels 28 of that mounting rail 20 can be overlapped with the upwardlyopen channels 28 of the next longitudinally adjacent or adjoiningmounting rail 20. This aspect of the invention will be described in moredetail later.

Returning to the manner in which the anchoring devices 30 are employedto secure the mounting rails 20 to the roof structure, further referenceis made to FIGS. 4 to 8 and FIG. 14 of the drawings. Each anchoringdevice 30 in this embodiment of the invention comprises a footing 31 inthe form of a plate member 32, which is designed to seat stably on anupper surface of a beam B of the roof structure, as shown in FIGS. 4 and5, to provide a solid foundation upon which the plurality of mountingmembers 20, and thus the entire frame 10 of the mounting system 100, maystand. The footing 31 further includes fastening means in the form ofholes 33 in plate member 32 and screw fasteners 34 received therein,with which the anchoring device 30 is rigidly attached to the roofstructure. The anchoring device 30 further includes a coupling member 35for connection with the mounting rail 20. In this embodiment, thecoupling member 35 has a generally rectangular or block-shaped bodyportion with a pair of laterally opposite ridge- or tongue-likeprojections 36. As is again apparent from FIGS. 5 to 8 of the drawings,these ridge- or tongue-like projections 36 form interconnection elementsfor secure engagement with the slots or grooves 25 formed the downwardlyopen channel 23 in base portion 22 of the mounting rail 20. Accordingly,the ridge- or tongue-like projections 36 are provided with a counterpartor corresponding geometry to the slots or grooves 25.

With reference to FIGS. 6 to 8 of the drawings, the interaction betweenthe mounting rail 20 and an anchoring device 30 is illustrated with thebase portion 22 of the mounting rail 20 shown in isolation. As shown inFIG. 7, for example, the coupling member 35 is configured to beselectively connected with the mounting rail 20 at effectively anyposition along the length of the downwardly open channel 23 in the baseportion 22. In particular, one of the tongue-like projections 36 at oneside of coupling member 35 can be inserted into the slot or groove 25 atthe corresponding side of channel 23 at essentially any position alongthe channel 23. By then pivoting coupling member 35 in the direction ofarrow U in FIG. 7 to move the other tongue-like projection 36 at otherside of the coupling member towards the groove 25 formed in the oppositewall 24 of the channel 23, the body portion and/or that tongue-likeprojection 36 of the coupling member 35 then comes into contact with thethicker region 27 of the channel 23. With reference to FIG. 19, the bodyportion of the coupling member 35 includes upper surfaces 37 that arerounded, particular along edge regions thereof. These rounded or curvedsurfaces 37, together with angled surfaces of the thicker region 27 inthe side wall 24 of the downwardly open channel 23, facilitate slidingcontact between the coupling member 35 and the side wall 24 of thechannel 23 to bring the second tongue-like projection 36 into alignmentwith the second slot or groove 25. At the same time, the relatively thinprofile of the side wall 24 of the channel 23 can resiliently flex ordeform due to the contact generated by the upward pivoting movement ofcoupling member 35 in the direction of arrow U. As a result, when thesecond tongue-like projection 36 comes into alignment with therespective groove or slot 25, that projection 36 then snaps or clicksinto engagement with the slot 25 via a snap-fit connection.

As is also apparent from FIGS. 5 to 8 of the drawings, the couplingmember 35 is connected to the footing 31 of the anchoring device 30 viaa rod 38 which is rigidly fixed to, and upstanding from, the platemember 32 of the footing 31. The rod 38 has an external screw thread andis received within a threaded bore 39 formed through a central part ofthe block-like body portion of the coupling member 35. By relativelyrotating the coupling member 35 on the threaded rod 38, the couplingmember 35 can be moved axially along the rod 38 towards or away from theplate member 32 of the footing 31. In this way, a spacing 3 between thecoupling member 35 and the footing 31 can be selectively varied by auser between a predetermined minimum (i.e. where the coupling member 35abuts or contacts the plate 32 of the footing 31) and a predeterminedmaximum (i.e. the top of the rod 38). Furthermore, with reference todrawing FIG. 5, the positioning of coupling member 35 along the lengthof the rod 38 not only determines the spacing 3 between the couplingmember 35 and the footing 31, but also adjusts and/or sets an elevationX of the respective mounting rail 20 relative to the roof structure,specifically, the beam B. Thus, after the coupling member has beenconnected via snap-fit to at a desired position along the length of thebase portion 22, the height or elevation of the mounting rail 20 can beadjusted by rotating the footing 31 (and spacer rod 38) of the anchoringdevice 30 relative to the coupling member 35 connected with the rail 20.Once the correct or desired elevation X has been obtained, the footing31 can then be secured to the top of the beam B to set the adjustedelevation and to rigidly secure anchor device 30 to the roof structure.The reason why an adjustable anchoring device 30 is particularlyadvantageous in a solar panel mounting system 100 according to theinvention will become more clear with reference with FIGS. 9 and 10 ofthe drawings.

FIG. 9 of the drawings illustrates a longitudinal cross-section of themounting system 100 shown in FIG. 1 taken along the lines IX-IX. Thus,in FIG. 9, beams B (in this case, cross-beams or battens B₂) of the roofstructure are shown in cross-section and three longitudinally aligned,elongate mounting members or mounting rails 20 of the mounting frame 10can be seen from the side extending across an upper surface of the beamsB in a direction generally transverse to the length of the beams B. Asnoted at the outset, the rooftop R in this embodiment is typicallyangled or pitched from a high side H to a low side L in the directionthe corrugations in the cladding C (i.e. roof tiles), which corrugationsoperate as channels to carry or direct rain-water off the roof. Forsimplicity, the cross-section of FIG. 9 is shown in a substantiallyhorizontal orientation (i.e. without the roof pitch) but, in fact, therooftop R is angled to slope downwardly from right to left in this case.The horizontal representation of FIG. 9 is useful because it helpsillustrate that the upper surfaces of the roof beams B together formseating surfaces which generally lie within a common plane, and thesesurfaces ordinarily support the tiles of the roof cladding C. As thiscladding C has been partially removed for the installation of the solarpanel array, however, a large section of the beam surfaces are now freefor the support and attachment of the mounting rails 20 in the mountingsystem 100.

As is apparent from FIG. 1 and FIGS. 9 and 10 of the drawings, inaddition to being arranged in parallel, spaced apart relation to oneanother, the mounting rails 20 are also arranged in longitudinalalignment with one another extending up the angle of roof pitch orinclination. A particular aspect of the solar panel mounting system 100of the invention resides in the mounting rails 20 being configured topartially overlap with a longitudinally adjoining or adjacent mountingrail 20. This overlap firstly serves to ensure that a lower edge regionof a solar panel S mounted in the array at a higher side of the rooftopR overlies (and overlaps with) an upper edge region of an adjacent solarpanel S mounted lower down the rooftop in the array. This overlap in therespective lower and upper edge regions of the solar panels S istypically over a width in the range of about 1 cm to 2 cm, andcorresponds to an edge region of the solar panels S which, in any case,is typically free of photovoltaic cells. Secondly, the mounting rails 20being configured to overlap with one another serves to ensure continuityof water run-off or drainage via the upwardly open channels 28. As notedearlier, the base portion 22 of each mounting rail 20 extendslongitudinally beyond the upper portion 21 at one end thereof, inparticular at the end directed to the high side H of the rooftop, as canbe seen in FIGS. 9 and 10. Thus, the base portion 22 of each mountingrail 20 includes a region 2 of longitudinal offset relative to the upperportion 21. This offset region or extension 2 is typically about 5 cm to6 cm in length and is configured so that the upwardly open channels 28of one mounting rail 20 can be overlapped with the upwardly openchannels 28 of the next longitudinally adjacent or adjoining mountingrail 20 to provide drainage integrity and continuity. In particular, thelower end regions of the upwardly open channels 28 of the higherextending mounting rail 20 overlie the extension or offset region 2 atthe upper end of the upwardly open channels 28 of the lower extendingmounting rail 20.

In each case, the overlap of the mounting rails 20 in the mountingsystem 100 of the invention is designed to ensure the integrity andcontinuity of rainwater run-off and drainage so that the solar panelarray may effectively function as part of the building envelope. In thisway, both the solar panels S themselves and the upwardly open channels28 provide unimpeded run-off or drainage of rainwater, snow-melt and/orcondensate from the rooftop R, while also substantially inhibitingunwanted ingress of water into the roof cavity or roof structure. Assuch, a solar panel array based on the mounting system 100 of theinvention can effectively form a weather-resistant part of the buildingenvelope without separately or additionally covering and sealing therooftop area covered by the solar panels with a weather-proof layer.

In view of the fact that the anchoring device 30 is to be secured to thecross-beams or battens B₂, the positions of which will differ in eachroof structure, and in view of the fact that the length of the mountingrails 20 is predefined in this embodiment by the length of the solarpanels S, the anchoring device 30 of the invention solves twosignificant problems. On the one hand, the anchoring device 30 is ableto secure the mounting rail 20 to the beam B at any desired point (andpreferably at least three) along the length of the mounting rail 20—i.e.selected in dependence upon locations of the beams B. On the other hand,the anchoring device 30 is able to compensate for any height orelevation discrepancies between the beams B of the roof structure andalso set elevation differences along the length of each mounting rail 20for the longitudinally overlapping arrangement of the mounting rails. Ascan be particularly clearly seen in FIG. 10 of the drawings, each of theanchoring devices 30 employed along the length of the middle mountingrail 20 has been selectively adjusted to provide a different elevation Xof the mounting rail 20 with respect to the respective cross-beam B₂ ofthe roof structure.

With reference again to FIGS. 4 and 5, as well as to FIGS. 14 and 15 ofthe drawings, the manner in which the respective edge regions E of thesolar panels S are received on and secured to the mounting rails 20substantially corresponds to the system described in co-pendingInternational Patent Application PCT/EP2009/002480, the contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference. As shown in FIG. 15, themounting rail 20 comprises two seating areas 19 formed at an upper sideof the mounting rail. Each of the seating areas 19 is adapted to receiveand support the edge region E of one of the solar panels S, with each ofthese two panel seating areas 19 extending along the length of themounting rail 20 parallel to the edge region E of the solar panel itreceives and supports. In this regard, it will be noted that the widthof each panel seating area 19 and correspondingly, therefore, the widthof the edge region E of each solar panel S to be supported and fixed tothe mounting rail 20 is typically in the range of about 10 mm to 50 mm,and preferably in the range of about 20 mm to 40 mm. Thus, the overallwidth of the upper portion 21 of each mounting rail 20 (i.e. the widthdimension of the section shown in FIG. 15) is in the range of about 30mm to 120 mm, and preferably in the range of about 60 mm to 90 mm.Naturally, the upwardly open channels 28 in the base portion 22 of eachmounting rail 20 may extend beyond this width range.

Extending longitudinally of the mounting rail 20 and arranged centrallyof the upper portion 21 of the mounting rail section is a centralchannel 18 which opens to the upper side of the mounting rail 20 betweena pair of adjacent and parallel extending bearing surfaces 17. Thepurpose and operation of these bearing surfaces 17 will be explained infurther later. The central upper channel 18 has a pair of substantiallyparallel walls 16, the inner surfaces of which have a surface profile,e.g. serrations, which combine or cooperate to form a partial screwthread for interaction with a complementary threaded fastener. Thus, thetwo panel seating areas 19 formed at the upper side of the mounting rail20 extend parallel to the first channel 18 on laterally opposite sidesof the mounting rail 20.

Each of the panel seating areas 19 has inner and outer flange elements15, the upper surfaces of which are arranged in essentially the sameplane and are adapted to receive and support the edge region E of thesolar panel S. A longitudinally extending gap between each of the innerand outer flange elements 15 opens into a lateral upper channel 14extending along the length of the mounting rail 20 in each of the panelseating areas 19. As can be seen with attention to the detail of FIG. 5,the edge regions E of each of the solar panels S are not seated indirect contact with the mounting rails 20. Rather, relatively soft andresilient seating elements 13 are provided in each of the panel seatingareas 19. As the solar panels S in this embodiment are frameless andmerely comprise edge regions E of fragile glass material, it isnaturally desirable to cushion contact with, and/or clamping of, theedge regions E of the solar panels. The seating elements 13 compriserectangular strips of synthetic rubber and include attachmentprojections which extend into the respective lateral channels 14. Abarb- or hook-like rim of the attachment projection engages an undersideof the inner and outer flange elements 15 to connect the seatingelements 13 with the mounting rail 20. The rectangular, block-like stripof each seating element 13 has an overall width which is essentially thesame as the width of the respective panel seating area 19 and extends inFIG. 5 from a small shoulder at an innermost edge of the inner flange tothe outer edge of the outer flange. To ensure an even support of thesolar panels S in the panel seating areas 19, the seating elements 13typically extend over substantially the full length dimension of theedge region E of the solar panels S received in and supported on theseating areas 19. The seating elements 13 are desirably combined withthe mounting rails 20 in a pre-assembly procedure so that installationof the solar panel array, conducted e.g. on the roof-top, is simplifiedfor the person carrying out the installation.

With reference now to FIGS. 2, 11 and 13 of the drawings, it will beseen that each of the mounting rails 20 in the mounting system 100 ofthe invention shown in FIG. 1 comprises a retaining element 40 mountedat its lower end. In this embodiment, a length dimension of the upperportion 21 (including a panel seating area 19) of each mounting rail 20essentially corresponds to a length dimension of the edge region E ofeach of the solar panels S to be supported on the mounting rails 20. Theretaining element 40 at the lower end of each mounting rail 20 providesa stop or limit means to retain the respective solar panels S in thedesired position in the seating area 19.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 13, the latter of which specificallyillustrates the retaining element 40 in isolation, it will be seen thateach retaining element 40 comprises a body portion 41 configured to besecurely fastened to an axial end region of one of the mounting rails20. The body portion 41 includes a generally flat, plate-like member 42configured to engage a facing end surface of the mounting rail 20, andupper lateral flange members 43 configured, in use, to form extensionsof the panel seating area 19. The body portion 41 of the retainingelement 40 also includes a circular aperture 44 for receiving afastener, e.g. a bolt or screw, centrally between the lateral flangemembers 43 for rigidly securing the retaining element 40 to an axial endregion of one of the mounting rails 20. The body portion 41 furthermorecomprises a stop or limit member 45, which in this embodiment is alsosubstantially flat or plate-like and which extends upwardly of thelateral flange members 43 that correspond to the panel seating area 19.The stop or limit member 45 presents one or more abutment surface 46adapted to engage with and support a peripheral edge P of the solarpanel S. As can be seen in FIG. 11 of the drawings, for example, thelateral stop surface(s) 46 of the limit member 45 extend(s) laterallyacross the panel seating area 19 of the mounting rail 20 and project(s)upwardly somewhat beyond the height of the peripheral edge P of thesolar panels S positioned on the mounting rail 20.

As will be understood from International Patent ApplicationPCT/EP2009/002480, the fastener (not shown) to be received in theaperture 44 may be a threaded bolt, an external thread of which has aprofile complementary to the surfaces of the walls 16 defining thepartial screw thread within the central first upper channel 18. Thus,the bolt fastener cooperates with the central upper channel 18 of themounting rail 20 for securely fastening the retaining element 40 to themounting rail 20. In addition, the fastening means via bolt and aperture44, together with the plate-like member 42 function as locating meansfor locating or positioning the retaining element 40 in a desiredpredetermined orientation at the facing end region of the mounting rail20. In particular, when fastened to the mounting rail 20, the stop orlimit member 45 of the retaining element 40 extends across a width ofthe mounting rail 20 such that each abutment or stop surface 46 islocated across each of the respective panel seating areas 19 to engagewith the lower peripheral edge P in the edge region E of each solarpanel S received in those seating areas 19.

With further reference to drawing FIG. 11, it will be apparent that eachretaining element 40 also includes a pair of forward protrusions 47which stand out from a front face of the plate-like member 42 and adownward protrusion 48 below the stop or limit member 45. Each of theseprotrusions 47, 48 forms positioning means configured to assistpositioning an end of the mounting rail 20 to which the retainingelement 40 is fastened (e.g. via bolt and aperture 44) with respect tothe end of an adjacent and longitudinally aligned mounting rail 20.Specifically, the protrusions 47 from the front face or side of theplate-like member 42 may be configured to be received within respectivecavities 12 at an end region of the longitudinally adjacent mountingrail 20. That is, the protrusions 47 may be sized and dimensioned to fitinto the respective cavities 12 relatively precisely (i.e. with little“play”), thereby helping to achieve a desired alignment of the twolongitudinally adjacent mounting rails 20. The protrusion 48, on theother hand, is configured to rest or seat upon an upper of thelongitudinally adjacent mounting rail 20 surface, in particular upon thebearing surfaces 17 over the central upper channel 18, when the forwardprotrusions 47 are received within the respective cavities 12. Thus, theprotrusions 47, 48 effect a positioning of that end of the mounting rail20 to which the retaining element 40 is rigidly bolted at an elevationrelative to a second longitudinally adjacent mounting rail 20. Moreparticularly, the protrusions 47, 48 interact with the second adjacentmounting rail 20 such that the lateral flange members 43 of theretaining element 40 (and thus also the contiguous panel seating areas19) of the mounting rail 20 to which the retaining element 40 is boltedare elevated with respect to the second mounting rail 20. The differencein elevation or height is fixed or predetermined and defined by thegeometry of the retaining element 40 itself, typically selected to be inthe range of about 1 cm to 3 cm. The resulting difference or variationin elevation or height of the adjacent end regions of the two mountingrails is apparent from drawing FIGS. 9 and 10, and is clearly visible inFIG. 11. Thus, the retaining element 40 plays an important role inachieving the desired overlap between the mounting rails 20 and thepanels S (discussed previously) in a regular and repeatable manner.

By rigidly securing a retaining element 40 at an end of each of themounting rails 20 to define a stop or limit for the edge regions E ofthe solar panels S to be received and fixed in the panel seating areas19, placement and assembly of each of the solar panels S within themounting system 100 of the present invention is substantially simplifiedcompared with prior art arrangements. In particular, the areas 19 forlocating the panels on each of the mounting rails 20 are clearlyrecognizable for a person placing the solar panels S in position on themounting rails 20 for subsequent attachment. The retaining element 40also prevents the associated solar panel from inadvertently slipping outof position or sliding off the mounting rail 20 before the solar panel Sis rigidly fixed to the mounting rail 20. Furthermore, each retainingelement 40 is configured to provide a preset or predetermined axial orlongitudinal positioning of the aligned mounting rails 20 with respectto one another. That is, the positioning means 47, 48 facilitate bothlongitudinal alignment of the mounting rails, as well as theirdifferential elevation or axial offset from one another. In this way,the solar panels S are mounted on the rails 20 with a slight overlap(i.e. in the range of about 10 mm to 20 mm) along their upper and loweredge regions, providing the staggered or shingled arrangement shown inFIGS. 9 to 11, which promotes rainwater run-off and inhibits ingress ofrainwater into the roof structure.

As a result, a single operator is able to assemble the mounting frame 10with the desired level of overlap between the longitudinally adjacentmounting rails 20 more easily. Furthermore, the operator can place thesolar panels S in mounting positions clearly delimited by the retainingelements 40, sound in the knowledge that the solar panels S will notinadvertently slip out of position or off the mounting rails 20, despitethe angular inclination of the pitched roof. The rigidly attachedretaining elements 40 hold the individual panels in the desired positionleaving the operator free to place another panel and/or to complete thefixture of the solar panels S already placed in their mountingpositions. In addition, the retaining elements 40 cooperate with themounting rails 20 to provide a predetermined degree of edge overlapbetween each of the rows of solar panels S in the solar panel arrayassembly.

With reference now to FIG. 5 and FIG. 20( a) of the drawings, it will benoted that the solar panel mounting system 100 of the invention includesa plurality of spacer elements 50 provided spaced apart along thelongitudinal extent of the mounting rails 20. This will also beunderstood by referring to the description in co-pending InternationalPatent Application PCT/EP2009/002480. As seen in FIG. 20( a), whichillustrates an example of the spacer element 50 in isolation, each ofthe spacer elements 50 includes an elongate, generally rectangular bodyportion 51, from which depend two tongue-like projections 52. Theseprojections 52 are configured to be received within the first channel 18of the mounting rail 20, as seen in FIG. 5. The tongue-like protrusions52 thus form locating means for locating or positioning each spacerelement 50 in a predetermined orientation with respect to the mountingrails 20. In this regard, it will be noted that the body portion 51 ofeach spacer element 50 assumes a position extending along an uppersurface of the mounting rail 20 seated on the bearing surfaces 17 oneither side of the opening to the first channel 18. That is, anunderside 53 of the body portion 51 is adapted to seat against thebearing surfaces 17 and the spacer element 50 has a width whichessentially corresponds to the width of those bearing surfaces 17.

As a result, lateral or side surfaces 54 of the body portion 51 of eachspacer element 50 serve to define a limit or boundary of the panelseating areas 19 at the laterally opposite sides of the mounting rail20. Furthermore, the body portion 51 of the spacer element 50 physicallyseparates the two panel seating areas 19 on opposite sides of themounting rail 20 from one another. The consequence and benefit of thisarrangement is apparent from drawing FIG. 5. In particular, theframeless peripheral edges P at the sides of each of the solar panels Sare located adjacent to and/or in abutment with the lateral or sidesurface 54 of the spacer element 50 and are thereby prevented fromcontacting each other. The spacer elements 50 therefore not only clearlydelimit or define the panel seating area 19 for receiving the edgeregion E of a solar panel S on the mounting rails 20, but also separatethe two panel seating areas 19 from one another such that the edges ofthe panels which are susceptible to damage from undesired impact orcontact with other hard objects are protected. In this connection, thespacer elements 50 are typically fabricated from a robust polymerplastic, such as polyethylene. The spacer elements 50 also have thefurther important characteristic that they cooperate with the clampingrail 40 to limit the amount of clamping pressure which may be applied tothe edge regions E of the solar panels received in the panel seatingareas 19.

As noted above, the mounting rails 20 are arranged in the mounting frame10 both longitudinally aligned, and also laterally spaced apart andsubstantially parallel with one another. The laterally spaced mountingrails are centred at distances just slightly larger than the width ofthe solar panels S, such that the solar panels S mounted thereon extendbetween two of the mounting rails 20. The distance between centres oftwo parallel spaced mounting rails 20 will typically exceed the width ofthe solar panels S by an amount approximately corresponding to the widthof the spacer elements 50—i.e. typically in the range of about 20 mm toabout 50 mm.

With reference to FIG. 20( a) of the drawings, it will be seen that thebody portion 51 of spacer element 50 includes an elongate aperture orslot 55 for accommodating a fastening bolt 61. This and other importantfeatures of the spacer elements 50 will be explained in the followingdescription of the manner in which the respective edge regions E of thesolar panels S are securely fixed to the mounting rails 20. In thisrespect, with reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 11 of the drawings and asdescribed in detail in PCT/EP2009/002480, the mounting system 100 of theinvention comprises fixing means in the form of elongate clampingmembers or clamping rails 60, 60′ examples of which are specificallyillustrated in cross-section in FIGS. 16 and 17. The clamping rails 60,60′ extend over a substantial length of the mounting rails 20 andtypically extend at least about two thirds, more preferably at leastfour-fifths, of the length dimension of the edge region E of the solarpanels S to ensure that a clamping force applied to the edge region ofthe panels is substantially uniformly distributed. The clamping rails60, 60′ are secured to respective mounting rails 20 in clampingengagement with the edge region(s) E of the respective solar panel(s).The fastening bolt 61 is threaded and is adapted to engage with thepartial thread of the surface profile formed on the walls 24 forming thefirst channel 18.

With reference to FIGS. 16 and 17 of the drawings, the cross-sections ofa standard clamping rail 60 and a peripheral clamping rail 60′ areshown. Each clamping rail 60, 60′ is provided with (e.g. four) holes 62spaced apart along the length thereof for receiving a respectivefastening bolt or screw 61. Each clamping rail 60, 60′ also includes atleast one elongate cavity or channel 63, an opening of which is boundedby an outer flange element 64 and inner flange element 65, for receivinga strip- or pad-like seating element 13 for direct contact with thesurface of the solar panel S in the edge region E thereof received inthe panel seating area 19—i.e. in a manner directly analogous to theprovision of the seating elements 13 in the second channels 27 formed inthe mounting rails 20, as described above.

Each of the clamping rails 60, 60′ incorporates stop means, providedhere in the form of rib- or fin-like projections 66, for stopping orlimiting the clamping force applied to the edge regions E of the solarpanels S. With reference to FIG. 5 of the drawings, when the fasteningbolt 61 is tightened by screwing it into the partially threaded profilein the walls 24 of the first channel 18, the head of the bolt 61 drawsthe clamping rail 60 down upon the edge regions E of the solar panelsreceived in the panel seating area 19. Each of the strip-like rubberseating elements 13 engages the upper and lower surfaces of the solarpanels S in the edge regions E received in the panel seating areas 19and is compressed as the clamping force applied by the fastening bolt 61increases. For a given thickness of the solar panels S, the thickness ofeach of the strip-like seating elements 13 is selected in combinationwith the height of the projections 66 so that, after a predeterminedamount of tightening of the fastening bolt 61, the projections 66 engagean upper surface 56 of the body portion 51 of the spacer element 50.

Similarly, each of the spacer elements 50 also includes stop means forstopping or limiting the clamping force applied to the solar panels.These stop means may also be in the form of one or more projections, inthis case a pair of upstanding ridge-like projections 57, which areadapted to engage an underside 67 of the clamping rail. Accordingly,after the bolts 61 have been turned and tightened a predeterminedamount, the projections 66 on the underside of the clamping rail 60engage the upper surface 56 of the spacer element 50 and the projections57 at the upper side of the spacer element 50 engage the underside 67 ofthe clamping rail 60. As each of the spacer elements 50 is relativelyrigid (i.e. substantially less compressible than the rubber seatingelements 13), the body portions 51 of the spacer elements seated on thebearing surfaces 17 of the mounting rail 20 limit the clamping forceapplied to the edge regions E of the solar panels.

As is described in PCT/EP2009/002480, the spacer elements 50 areprovided spaced apart along the longitudinal length of the mounting rail20. The fastening bolts 61 do not directly engage with the spacerelements 50, but rather simply extend through the elongated aperture orslot 55 located centrally in each of the spacer elements 50. Theelongated form of each aperture 55 simplifies the registration betweenthe spacer elements 50 and the three bolt holes 62 formed in each of theclamping rails 60, 60′. In this regard, it will be noted that the spacerelements 50 are typically positioned on the mounting rails 20 by hand bythe person assembling the mounting system 100. Thus, after the mountingframe 10 is assembled on the supporting structure (i.e. in this case,the pitched roof), the spacer elements 50 are placed on the mountingrails 20 by inserting the tongue-like projections 52 into the firstchannel 18 at the upper side of the mounting rail. The individual spacerelements 50 are placed to approximately correspond to the positions ofthe bolt holes 62 formed in each of the clamping rails 60, 60′ to befastened later. The elongate nature of the aperture 55 thereforeprovides a certain amount of flexibility in the positioning of thespacer elements 50 and a precise alignment or registration with thefastening holes 62 in the clamping rails 60, 60′ is not required. Thespacer elements 50 are ultimately held fixed in their positions throughthe clamping effect described above. In addition, a degree ofinterference between outer surfaces of the tongue-like projections 52and the profiled surface of the walls 24 inside the first channel 18 maybe useful to hold (e.g. lightly hold) the spacer elements 50 at thepositions where they are placed by the worker to avoid inadvertent andunwanted movement (e.g. sliding movement) of the spacer elements 50 outof their positions along the mounting rails 20 before the clampingmembers 60, 60′ are applied.

Drawing FIG. 20( b) illustrates a particularly preferred spacer element50′, which is a variation of the spacer element 50 in FIG. 20( a) andhas been developed for use at the extreme edge regions of the mountingframe 10 of the invention. The features of the spacer element 50′ havingthe same appearance and reference numerals as those described for thespacer element 50 shown in FIG. 20( a) operate in the same manner. Thepurpose of the different features of spacer element 50′, however, areapparent from FIGS. 3 and 12, which illustrate the use of spacer element50′ shown in FIG. 20( b) at the uppermost edge region of the solar panelarray. As is visible in FIG. 20( b), the spacer element 50′ has anextended body portion 51, one end of which includes a holder means 58for receiving and holding an edge region of sheet material, which isdesigned to form flashing F at the upper periphery of the solar panelarray. In particular, the holder means 58 comprises a pair of jawsdefining a slot 59 there-between into which an edge of the flashingmaterial F is inserted. The jaws of the holder means 58 are configuredto grip or clamp the flashing sheet F at a position such that theflashing F overlies the uppermost peripheral edges of the solar panels Sin the solar panel array. The flashing sheet may also be fastened (e.g.screwed) to the top of one of the roof cross-beams or battens B₂.

By providing the spacer element 50′ with this holder means 58, theflashing sheet F can be securely and accurately positioned with respectto the solar panel array without additional adaptation of the basicsheet material F being necessary. Further, the jaws defining the slot59, which may have a depth in the range of 2 cm to 8 cm, preferably onlygrip the edge of the flashing sheet F relatively lightly such that asideways or lateral movement or displacement of the sheet is possible,thereby also facilitating optimal position adjustment.

After the mounting frame 10 is securely and rigidly assembled andestablished on the pitched roof, the worker can commence placing thesolar panels S in their respective positions. In this regard, theretaining elements 40, which may have been rigidly pre-assembled withthe mounting rails 20, not only clearly indicate the position of thelower peripheral edge P of the respective solar panels S, they alsoprevent any undesired movement of the panels before the panels areclamped in position. Similarly, the spacer elements 50 located along thelengths of the mounting rails 20 clearly delimit the panel seating area19 on each of the mounting rails and protect the susceptible edgeregions E of the glass sheets from damage. After the solar panels havebeen placed in their mounting positions, the clamping rails 60, 60′ arethen applied to securely fix the edge regions E of the solar panels tothe mounting rails 20, as described above.

It will be appreciated that the above description of the preferredembodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings has beenmade by way of example only. Accordingly, a person skilled in the artwill appreciate that various changes, modifications and/or additions maybe made to the parts particularly described and illustrated withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined in the appendedclaims.

1. A mounting system for mounting one or more solar panels, the mountingsystem comprising: a plurality of elongate mounting members adapted tobe arranged and secured spaced apart and substantially parallel to oneanother, wherein each of the mounting members is adapted to receive andsupport an edge region of a solar panel such that each solar panelextends between at least two mounting members; and a plurality ofanchoring devices for securing each of the mounting members to a supportstructure; wherein each anchoring device comprises a footing adapted tobe rigidly fastened to the support structure, and a coupling member forconnection with a respective one of the mounting members, wherein aspacing between the coupling member and the footing is selectivelyvariable by a user to adjust and/or set an elevation of the respectivemounting member relative to the support structure.
 2. The mountingsystem according to claim 1, wherein the coupling member is connectedwith the footing via a spacer member, and wherein at least one of thespacer member and the coupling member comprises a means for varying aposition of the coupling member relative to the footing thereby to varythe spacing.
 3. The mounting system according to claim 2, wherein theposition varying means is adapted to vary the spacing continuouslybetween a predetermined maximum and a predetermined minimum.
 4. Themounting system according to claim 3, wherein the coupling member ofeach anchoring device is configured to be selectively connectable withthe respective mounting member along substantially an entire length ofthe mounting member.
 5. The mounting system according to claim 4,wherein the coupling member comprises one or more interconnectionelements for engagement with one or more complementary interconnectionelements provided in or on the respective mounting member.
 6. Themounting system according to claim 4, wherein the mounting membercomprises a base portion for connection with one or more of theanchoring devices, the base portion including a channel which extendslongitudinally of the mounting member and is configured to receive thecoupling member.
 7. A mounting rail for mounting a solar panel thereto,comprising: an upper portion having at least one panel seating areawhich extends longitudinally of a mounting member for receiving andfixing an edge region of the solar panel; and a base portion having alongitudinally extending channel which opens downwardly to an undersideof the mounting rail, the downwardly open channel being configured toreceive a coupling member of an anchoring device for securing themounting member to a support structure; wherein the downwardly openchannel comprises one or more interconnection elements configured forsnap-fit engagement with the coupling member of the anchoring device. 8.The mounting rail according to claim 7, wherein the one or moreinterconnection elements in the downwardly open channel are configuredfor resiliently flexible or resiliently biased engagement with thecoupling member of the anchoring device.
 9. The mounting rail accordingto claim 7, wherein the base portion comprises at least onelongitudinally extending channel which is upwardly open for at least oneof capturing and directing water ingress under the solar panels, whereinsaid at least one upwardly open channel of the base portion isconfigured to overlap in the longitudinal direction with a respectiveupwardly open channel in the base portion of a longitudinally adjacentor adjoining mounting rail.
 10. The mounting rail according to claim 9,wherein the at least one upwardly open channel projects laterally to aside of the mounting rail beyond a lateral extent of the panel seatingarea on the mounting rail.
 11. The mounting rail according to claim 7,wherein the base portion is at least one of longitudinally offset fromand extending longitudinally beyond the upper portion, such that thebase portion of one mounting rail is configured to overlap with the baseportion of a longitudinally adjacent or adjoining mounting rail.
 12. Ananchoring device for securing a mounting rail of a solar panel (S)mounting system to a support structure, the anchoring device comprising:a footing to be rigidly fastened to the support structure, and acoupling member for connection with the mounting rail, wherein theanchoring device comprises means for selectively varying a distance orspacing of the coupling member from the footing to at least one ofadjust and set an elevation of the mounting member relative to thesupport structure.
 13. The anchoring device according to claim 12,wherein the coupling member is connected to the footing via a spacermember, and wherein said means comprises means for selectively varyingthe position of the coupling member on the spacer member to at least oneof adjust and set the elevation of the mounting member relative to thesupport structure.
 14. The anchoring device according to claim 13,wherein the spacer member is rigidly fixed to the footing and at leastone of the spacer member and the coupling member comprises the positionvarying means.
 15. A mounting system for mounting one or more solarpanels, the mounting system comprising: a plurality of elongate mountingmembers adapted to be arranged and secured in longitudinal alignmentwith one another for supporting one or more solar panels thereon; and aplurality of anchoring devices for securing each of the mounting membersto a support structure; wherein each of the elongate mounting memberscomprises: an upper portion adapted to receive and support an edgeregion of a solar panel, and a base portion configured for connectionwith one or more of the anchoring devices along substantially an entirelength of the mounting member, wherein the base portion is at least oneof longitudinally offset from and extending longitudinally beyond theupper portion, such that the base portion of the mounting member isconfigured to overlap with the base portion of a longitudinally adjacentor adjoining mounting member.
 16. The mounting system according to claim15, wherein the base portion includes at least one longitudinallyextending channel which is upwardly open for at least one of capturingand directing water ingress under the solar panels, wherein said atleast one upwardly open channel of the base portion is adapted tooverlap in the longitudinal direction with a respective upwardly openchannel in the base portion of a longitudinally adjacent or adjoiningmounting member.
 17. The mounting system according to claim 15, whereina panel seating area on each mounting member for receiving and fixingthe edge region of the solar panel extends longitudinally of themounting member, and wherein the at least one upwardly open channelprojects laterally to a side of the respective mounting member beyond alateral extent of the panel seating area on that mounting member. 18.The mounting system according to claim 15, wherein the base portionincludes a channel which opens downwardly and extends longitudinally ofthe mounting member for receiving a coupling member of one of theanchoring devices.
 19. The mounting system according to claim 15,wherein the plurality of elongate mounting members are also adapted tobe arranged and secured substantially parallel to and laterally spacedfrom one another, such that the elongate mounting members form amounting frame for supporting an array of the solar panels thereon, witheach solar panel extending between at least two laterally spacedmounting members.
 20. A retaining element for preventing a solar panelfrom sliding in an axial or longitudinal direction relative to anelongate mounting member of a mounting system for mounting solar panelson an inclined structure, the retaining element comprising: a bodyportion configured to be securely fastened to an axial end region of afirst elongate mounting member, the body portion comprising a stopmember having a stop surface for engagement with a peripheral edge of asolar panel mounted on the first mounting member, wherein the bodyportion includes positioning means configured to elevate the end regionof the first mounting member relative to an adjacent end region of asecond mounting member which is arranged in longitudinal alignment withthe first mounting member.
 21. The retaining element according to claim20, wherein the positioning means comprises one or more protrusionsconfigured to be at least one of received within, to overlap with and toseat upon, the end region of the second mounting member.
 22. Theretaining element according to claim 21, wherein the body portion isconfigured to engage a facing end surface of the first mounting member.23. The mounting system according to claim 3, wherein the positionvarying means comprises a screw thread.
 24. The mounting systemaccording to claim 4, wherein the channel comprises one or morecomplementary interconnection elements for secure engagement with theone or more interconnection elements of the coupling member.
 25. Themounting system according to claim 4, wherein the selective connectivityis provided via a snap-fit connection.
 26. The mounting system accordingto claim 5, wherein the one or more interconnection elements comprisesone of a projection and a recess.
 27. The mounting system according toclaim 26, wherein the one or more interconnection elements and the oneor more complimentary interconnection elements comprise tongue andgroove elements, respectively.
 28. The mounting rail according to claim7, wherein the one or more interconnection elements in the downwardlyopen channel are configured with at least one of angled and roundedsurfaces to facilitate sliding contact and engagement into a snap-fitinterconnection there-between.
 29. The retaining element according toclaim 22, wherein the facing end surface comprises a facing platemember.
 30. The retaining element of claim 28, wherein the one or moreprotrusions of the positioning means project from the facing platemember.
 31. The mounting system according to claim 1, wherein thesupport structure is a roof structure.
 32. The mounting system accordingto claim 15, wherein the support structure is a roof structure.